No waiting, no experimenting. This June, Mikel Arteta is going all-in — concrete, ambitious and with a championship mentality. No more improvising with Brentford midfielders — with all due respect to Christian Norgaard, who has officially joined Everton — and no more players dropping into the No. 6 or No. 8 role depending on the situation. Arsenal no longer need to squeeze every last drop out of their midfield because they had the money to spend big on an elite footballer. They wanted the ideal partner for one of their vice-captains, Declan Rice, to cement the midfield partnership, fill all the gaps and strengthen the positions that had often looked shaky in the ranks of the Premier League champions. Now both the No. 6 and No. 8 positions offer opponents something to fear and teammates something to rely on.A force of nature. Guimaraes is a Gunner ✍️ pic.twitter.com/E7k4mIHICg— Arsenal (@Arsenal) August 8, 2026 Bruno Guimaraes has officially arrived. Arsenal have paid 87.5 million euros for the Brazil international and, as the English would say, for what Mikel Arteta was looking for, this is a "bargain". It may not be entirely accurate to say that a club has got a bargain after spending that much money, but considering what Newcastle were asking for, Arsenal could hardly have done much better. The first major problem for the English champions has been solved. One of the final two pieces of the puzzle is in place. All that remains is for Andrea Berta to give the Spanish coach a big name on the left wing — it is hard to believe Christos Tzolis is still the man — so that Arteta has a squad properly covered in every position. Arteta has said "a million times" that now, as champions, Arsenal have to become even stronger and better. And he certainly wasn't just talking: the club's hierarchy immediately got to work to give him what he wanted.💬 “I’m here to play like a warrior – I’ll never give up.” EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Bruno Guimaraes is here to bring the fight 🎙️ Watch now on https://t.co/4KJlfKW7rt and The Arsenal App 📲— Arsenal (@Arsenal) August 8, 2026 “I'm very excited. I’m at the point of my life where I need a challenge like this. I want to win trophies, I want to make history and I think I'm in the right place to do it. I'm so excited to start. It's massive what I have done so far, but I want more. I want to win for Arsenal. I want to win more trophies in my career, and I think I'm in the right place, at my peak at 28 years old. I'm so excited to join. Here, wearing this shirt, you have to go for winning trophies, winning everything we can and make history. I want to put my name in the club history. Someday, when I leave, I want players to come here and say I want to do exactly what Bruno did for the club. I'm so excited to join you. I will give you my best, I promise. Like I said, I'm your warrior, I'll never give up. Hopefully we can create many, many good memories together” said Guimaraes for his new club.Giants are picking Magpies apart – Arsenal make move for Bruno GuimaraesBefore even listing his footballing qualities, Arteta needed another leader in the dressing room — someone with a strong character and a loud voice. That makes him the perfect partner for Declan Rice, currently the team's main engine in every sense. Yes, Martin Odegaard remains captain, and Bukayo Saka can sometimes be the first deputy to the Norwegian attacking midfielder, but today's Arsenal version of Patrick Vieira — without wanting to push the comparison too far — is Declan Rice, who has long been the team's vocal leader.Now he gets someone who will be his right-hand man not only in midfield but also in the dressing room. That is extremely important for a team that has at times lacked character and toughness over the years, shortcomings that have often proved costly.##NAJAVA_MECA_9883888##From a footballing perspective, the Brazil international has long received praise from Arsenal's manager for his ability to cope with an opponent's high press, his composure on the ball and his cool head. That is exactly what Arteta needs and what he was looking for: someone who, with two touches alongside Rice, can break the opposition press and bypass its lines during the build-up, without Odegaard or whichever attacking midfielder happens to be playing having to drop deep unnecessarily. He should also be exactly the kind of player capable of breaking down opponents sitting in a low block, something Arsenal have struggled with ever since becoming one of the main favourites for the Premier League title over the past two or three years. And here's an interesting statistic: last season Bruno Guimaraes scored nine goals and provided five assists. Only Viktor Gyokeres had better numbers at Arsenal.